Thursday, 2 August 2012

The Pink Pirate

Six-year-old
Georgia, the daughter of Ginger John who captains the Jolly Jellyfish, can “swim like a dolphin, do backflips off the
gangplank, climb the rigging like a monkey” and does sword practice daily.
Though without a son who he’d hoped to pass his ship on to once too old to pillage
and plunder, John refuses to teach Georgia how to steer the ship. He
makes her wear a pink dress, with buttons, and bows and says girls can’t be
captains!

A
caring father, he bundles her below deck as Captain Blackboots and his crew arrive.
From the galley, Georgia
hears Blackboots and gang invade, and her father’s crew scattering. The ship
drifts with the tide and Georgia
realizes nobody is steering. It is her chance to prove herself. She dons Dad’s
spare hat and sword and sneeks out, hiding behind the ship’s wheel. In her
fiercest captain’s voice she orders Blackboots to “surrender or suffer the consequences.”

He
turns on her but she climbs the rigging, slashing the canvas so it falls on top
of Blackboots and gang, trapping them. Dad and his crew toss them back onto
their ship and Dad declares Georgia
to be the best pirate ever. Wearing a purple pirate suit, complete with hat, she
“sails away into the sunset, knowing that
you can be anything you want to be, as long as you believe in yourself.”

Bright,
lively, Illustrations combine with strong text to show a wide array of
character emotions. They make it obvious that Georgia’s father is her hero and
that she is the apple of his eye. Readers will sympathise with how gutted she
appears when he has no choice but to order her below deck. Likewise, images of
her frustration when she hears Blackboots get the better of her father’s crew
and her joy when she is recognised for her success and finally allowed to be
herself will connect with readers. The ship’s cat and mice appear in every
spread: in fun battles with each other, unified in sorrow when the ship is
taken over, sharing their joy by giving each other high-fives when it’s won.
Publisher’s notes say this is for 2-6 year olds though it will appeal to older
readers too.